Alliancebernstein L.P. Cuts Holdings in AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of AeroVironment, Inc. (NASDAQ:AVAV) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 458,430 shares of the aerospace company’s stock after selling 17,617 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in AeroVironment were worth $70,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVAV. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,098,822 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,878,000 after purchasing an additional 35,543 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co. grew its stake in AeroVironment by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 2,135,280 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $328,598,000 after buying an additional 183,887 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of AeroVironment by 0.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,582,871 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $317,366,000 after acquiring an additional 7,471 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of AeroVironment by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 634,189 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $127,180,000 after acquiring an additional 4,948 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AeroVironment by 40.0% during the 4th quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 541,541 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $83,338,000 after acquiring an additional 154,703 shares in the last quarter. 86.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on AVAV. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on AeroVironment from $220.00 to $146.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of AeroVironment in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on AeroVironment from $230.00 to $190.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $202.40.

AeroVironment Price Performance

AVAV stock opened at $117.59 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $147.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.86. AeroVironment, Inc. has a 52-week low of $110.07 and a 52-week high of $236.60. The company has a market capitalization of $3.32 billion, a PE ratio of 67.58 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 3.36, a current ratio of 4.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Insider Transactions at AeroVironment

In other AeroVironment news, CEO Wahid Nawabi sold 29,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $128.20, for a total transaction of $3,764,721.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 115,174 shares in the company, valued at $14,765,306.80. This represents a 20.32 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.27% of the company’s stock.

AeroVironment Profile

AeroVironment, Inc designs, develops, produces, delivers, and supports a portfolio of robotic systems and related services for government agencies and businesses in the United States and internationally. It operates through Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS), Tactical Missile System (TMS), Medium Unmanned Aircraft Systems (MUAS), and High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite Systems (HAPS) segments.